TYPE 2: Episode 019 - Rob Hopkins

Type 2 is a podcast from Looking Sideways in association with Patagonia that explores the intersection between the outdoors, action sports and activism. My guest for this episode of Type 2 is Rob Hopkins, a ridiculously prolific UK-based activist, author, podcaster, lecturer and environmentalist who describes himself as a ‘champion of the collective imagination’. There are many lessons and insights in this chat, but two themes predominate - the power of local movements to lead to wider, societal change; and the importance of imagination and creativity in this wider process. For Rob, the act of imagining different outcomes and realities is integral if we are to get through the perilous climate situation we find ourselves in. If you think about it, this is a profound insight. After all, one thing that keeps the status quo in place is a kind of imaginative helplessness, this idea that our own actions are destined not to have any impact, so there’s no point in bothering. Rob sees this condition of inertia and confusion as ‘a state of promise,’ and his work is primarily concerned with arming people with the tools to break out of this imaginative malaise, and to reimagine our individual and collective realities so we can create a better future. That’s the basis of Rob’s pioneering work with the Transition Movement, for example, and the work he’s currently leading in his home town of Totnes in the UK. Rob is a truly original thinker with an ethos that is a beguiling blend of pragmatism and untrammelled creativity. I found this to be a hugely inspiring, thought-provoking and insightful conversation. I hope you do too. New episodes of Type 2 are released every four weeks through my Looking Sideways channel. Hear it by subscribing to Looking Sideways via ApplePodcasts, Spotify or any of the usual other podcast providers. Thanks to Ewan Wallace for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson.